McDonalds will be a franchise in The Sims Online computer game.
September 17, 2002 7:38 AM Subscribe
McDonalds will be a franchise in The Sims Online computer game. Will my Sim character get fat if he eats at a Sim McDonalds? I guess we'll need Sim lawyers to help us out on that one.
Will cops arrest me for terrorism (in real life) if I blow up a McDonald's (in sim life) ? I don't think that's far off.
posted by djacobs at 7:57 AM on September 17, 2002
posted by djacobs at 7:57 AM on September 17, 2002
And when can I have Sims Online for OS X? I feel like I've been waiting for this longer than I was waiting for Ultima V!
posted by djacobs at 7:58 AM on September 17, 2002
posted by djacobs at 7:58 AM on September 17, 2002
The only product placement I allow in my Sims' world is a Pepsi machine (scroll down a bit for it).
posted by fredosan at 8:05 AM on September 17, 2002
posted by fredosan at 8:05 AM on September 17, 2002
Yes... could I please have a virtual number 1 meal, supersized with a Dr. Pepper?.... easy on the special sauce.
posted by bmxGirl at 8:06 AM on September 17, 2002
posted by bmxGirl at 8:06 AM on September 17, 2002
The big question is: Can you order Intel products in the McDonald's? My Sim's got a hankerin' for nine pentium four processors with barbeque sauce.
posted by Ljubljana at 8:08 AM on September 17, 2002
posted by Ljubljana at 8:08 AM on September 17, 2002
Cyrano: I hear you, brother. I hear you.
Djacobs: I played Ultima V for almost a year before I realized that it was subtitled "Warriors of Destiny" and not "Warriors of Density" (what can I say, I was 10 when it came out.)
Actual On Topic Part: This story actually bums me out a bit. Part of the fun of the Sims is reading those ridiculous descriptions of the fake products you get to buy ... all of them do a great job of mocking corporate-ad speak. Seems like it would be kind of hard to keep that snarky tone if the product actually existed and could sue you. Ah well...
posted by textureslut at 8:10 AM on September 17, 2002
Djacobs: I played Ultima V for almost a year before I realized that it was subtitled "Warriors of Destiny" and not "Warriors of Density" (what can I say, I was 10 when it came out.)
Actual On Topic Part: This story actually bums me out a bit. Part of the fun of the Sims is reading those ridiculous descriptions of the fake products you get to buy ... all of them do a great job of mocking corporate-ad speak. Seems like it would be kind of hard to keep that snarky tone if the product actually existed and could sue you. Ah well...
posted by textureslut at 8:10 AM on September 17, 2002
will wright's games suffer because the only thing you can do in the end is just get bigger.... just as sim tower should really be called sim elevator, the sims is really sim yuppie. and with mcdonald's being a shining example of capitalism this is a perfectly appropriate endorsement.
posted by the aloha at 8:24 AM on September 17, 2002
posted by the aloha at 8:24 AM on September 17, 2002
texture:
I played Ultima V for almost a year before I realized that it was subtitled "Warriors of Destiny" and not "Warriors of Density" (what can I say, I was 10 when it came out.)
i believe that the warriors of density are a clan of no renown that play games on ultima online.
ultima v was probably my favorite in the early series (1-5). there were so many things you can do. you could sit in chairs, and sleep in beds!
posted by moz at 8:29 AM on September 17, 2002
I played Ultima V for almost a year before I realized that it was subtitled "Warriors of Destiny" and not "Warriors of Density" (what can I say, I was 10 when it came out.)
i believe that the warriors of density are a clan of no renown that play games on ultima online.
ultima v was probably my favorite in the early series (1-5). there were so many things you can do. you could sit in chairs, and sleep in beds!
posted by moz at 8:29 AM on September 17, 2002
aloha: Well put.
I like The Sims' attempts to quantify the goods and ills of various life choices -- trained cooks make healthier food, for instance. I wonder where McD's cuisine will rank on the Sims' life-meters. Because, as textureslut notes, the jabs at consumer culture trappings are a large part of the charm of the game, and thinking about the trade-offs inherit in a Sim's day-to-day life are what give the game value. I don't think corporate sponsors are going to give much truck to being mocked or diminished, however, which is going to take a lot from the game.
That said, the real ballsy move would be to have both McD's and Wendy's in the game. C'mon! Capitalism!
djacobs: The scary thing is how true that seems to me.
posted by blueshammer at 8:41 AM on September 17, 2002
I like The Sims' attempts to quantify the goods and ills of various life choices -- trained cooks make healthier food, for instance. I wonder where McD's cuisine will rank on the Sims' life-meters. Because, as textureslut notes, the jabs at consumer culture trappings are a large part of the charm of the game, and thinking about the trade-offs inherit in a Sim's day-to-day life are what give the game value. I don't think corporate sponsors are going to give much truck to being mocked or diminished, however, which is going to take a lot from the game.
That said, the real ballsy move would be to have both McD's and Wendy's in the game. C'mon! Capitalism!
djacobs: The scary thing is how true that seems to me.
posted by blueshammer at 8:41 AM on September 17, 2002
I've been wondering when things like this will happen. Computer and console games are hugely popular but product placement is pretty rare. Even to a extent where you'll have to pay money to get real auto brands etc. in your game.
On reason is that McDonalds doesn't think it's good advertisement if that GTA3 guy can go and blow up one of their restaurants. Regardless I think we'll be seeing more and more of this. Of course in the EU regulations will kick in pretty fast, so hopefully it will never become too excessive.
posted by lazy-ville at 9:28 AM on September 17, 2002
On reason is that McDonalds doesn't think it's good advertisement if that GTA3 guy can go and blow up one of their restaurants. Regardless I think we'll be seeing more and more of this. Of course in the EU regulations will kick in pretty fast, so hopefully it will never become too excessive.
posted by lazy-ville at 9:28 AM on September 17, 2002
On reason is that McDonalds doesn't think it's good advertisement if that GTA3 guy can go and blow up one of their restaurants.
lazy: I will blow up the Sims McDonald's. I'll make sure no one is there before I do so.
posted by djacobs at 9:34 AM on September 17, 2002
lazy: I will blow up the Sims McDonald's. I'll make sure no one is there before I do so.
posted by djacobs at 9:34 AM on September 17, 2002
I'll be satisfied if there's a McDonald's Career ladder.
You know, I used to be just like you. Now...I'm washin' lettuce. Soon I'll be on fries, then the grill. In a year or two, I'll be assitant manager...and that's when the big bucks start rollin' in.
posted by Stan Chin at 9:47 AM on September 17, 2002
You know, I used to be just like you. Now...I'm washin' lettuce. Soon I'll be on fries, then the grill. In a year or two, I'll be assitant manager...and that's when the big bucks start rollin' in.
posted by Stan Chin at 9:47 AM on September 17, 2002
Sorry, aloha, but I think you're not giving Wright enough credit.
I did an interview with him back when the Sims first came out, and I tried to call him on the whole "happiness through consumerism" angle. But as he pointed out, if you overload your sims with too much stuff, they'll end up spending all of their time simply running around maintaining everything -- thus reducing their leisure time, which thus reduces their happiness.
I took his advice, and found that -- for me at least -- the best way to keep sims happy is to restrict them to just a couple of "toys". As in real life, bigger doesn't always equal better.
posted by Polo Mr. Polo at 9:56 AM on September 17, 2002
I did an interview with him back when the Sims first came out, and I tried to call him on the whole "happiness through consumerism" angle. But as he pointed out, if you overload your sims with too much stuff, they'll end up spending all of their time simply running around maintaining everything -- thus reducing their leisure time, which thus reduces their happiness.
I took his advice, and found that -- for me at least -- the best way to keep sims happy is to restrict them to just a couple of "toys". As in real life, bigger doesn't always equal better.
posted by Polo Mr. Polo at 9:56 AM on September 17, 2002
mmm, SimE.Coli
posted by panopticon at 9:58 AM on September 17, 2002
posted by panopticon at 9:58 AM on September 17, 2002
Sim McDonalds. Live the burger-flippin' high life.
posted by hot soup girl at 10:31 AM on September 17, 2002
posted by hot soup girl at 10:31 AM on September 17, 2002
blueshammer:
I wonder where McD's cuisine will rank on the Sims' life-meters.
MSNBC Article:
Eating that food will also improve their standing within the game.
Great message to instill in the game: Eating fast food makes you happy!
posted by Steve_at_Linnwood at 10:56 AM on September 17, 2002
I wonder where McD's cuisine will rank on the Sims' life-meters.
MSNBC Article:
Eating that food will also improve their standing within the game.
Great message to instill in the game: Eating fast food makes you happy!
posted by Steve_at_Linnwood at 10:56 AM on September 17, 2002
Strange. I wonder if the workers will be able to spit in your burger if you become belligerent after a night out on the town. Ugh. I see a (sim) nation of fat kids on the horizon.
posted by bucko at 10:59 AM on September 17, 2002
posted by bucko at 10:59 AM on September 17, 2002
If I buy a Pentium using the OS X client of Sims Online, will it become incompatible with itself?
posted by mkultra at 11:57 AM on September 17, 2002
posted by mkultra at 11:57 AM on September 17, 2002
I'm going to spill some the virtual coffee on my virtual legs and sue some serious virtual booty for my virtual burns and virtual trauma!
posted by jacknose at 12:47 PM on September 17, 2002
posted by jacknose at 12:47 PM on September 17, 2002
Product placement in games will never reach the glorious heights of Chupa Chups in Zool.
posted by SiW at 1:23 PM on September 17, 2002
posted by SiW at 1:23 PM on September 17, 2002
Yeah, product placement in games is nothing new. For a long time though, a lot of product placement had to be purchased by the actual game developers. In games that try to be simulations or representations of the real world, having that air of corporate advertising actually helps the game's legitimacy. Because, if you haven't noticed, the real world is full of advertising and branding.
If there's any genre that has seen a lot of that, it's the racing game. Tracks plastered with Castrol, Goodyear, Ford, and Honda logos just seem that much more realistic than ones filled with some fake brands. This is more the case if you are racing on an actual real-world track, like Laguna Seca, where those ads are present in the real world. Only makes sense to reproduce them.
posted by mkn at 2:00 PM on September 17, 2002
If there's any genre that has seen a lot of that, it's the racing game. Tracks plastered with Castrol, Goodyear, Ford, and Honda logos just seem that much more realistic than ones filled with some fake brands. This is more the case if you are racing on an actual real-world track, like Laguna Seca, where those ads are present in the real world. Only makes sense to reproduce them.
posted by mkn at 2:00 PM on September 17, 2002
Great message to instill in the game: Eating fast food makes you happy!
Well, it does. It also kills you. But as your heart gives out, the delicious taste of those fries linger on your tongue forever...
posted by owillis at 2:05 PM on September 17, 2002
Well, it does. It also kills you. But as your heart gives out, the delicious taste of those fries linger on your tongue forever...
posted by owillis at 2:05 PM on September 17, 2002
owillis... sick, very sick....
posted by Steve_at_Linnwood at 3:43 PM on September 17, 2002
posted by Steve_at_Linnwood at 3:43 PM on September 17, 2002
I smell lawsuits. And hamburgers. Mmmm... hamburgers.
based on your mmmm comment, I can only assume that you are not smelling mcdonald's hamburgers....
posted by sinical at 8:12 PM on September 17, 2002
based on your mmmm comment, I can only assume that you are not smelling mcdonald's hamburgers....
posted by sinical at 8:12 PM on September 17, 2002
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by Cyrano at 7:46 AM on September 17, 2002